Japan’s KyoAni Arson Victims Remembered in Ceremony Five Years On; Animation Company Planning New Building on Site of Former Studio

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, July 19, 2024

A memorial ceremony was held Thursday for victims of the arson attack at a Kyoto Animation Co. studio in July 2019, five years after the shocking incident that claimed the lives of 36 people.

The ceremony took place in Kyoto at the former site of the animated film production company’s No. 1 studio. It was attended by 144 people, including bereaved families and colleagues of the victims.

A private event closed to the public, the ceremony was held inside a tent set up at the site. According to Kyoto Animation, the attendees observed a moment of silence at 10:35 a.m., the time the attack occurred five years ago.

“We will continue creating works, keeping the vision you left to us in our hearts,” said company President Hideaki Hatta.

The No. 1 studio was dismantled in April 2020, and the site has been a vacant lot since then. Kyoto Animation is planning to construct a new company building there and may erect a private cenotaph on the premises.

On Sunday, a monument marking the tragedy was completed in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, where the company’s head office is located. From the morning of that day, many fans came to see it.

The arson attack occurred on the morning of July 18, 2019. Shinji Aoba, 46, was indicted on five charges, including murder and attempted murder, for killing 36 people and injuring 32.

The Kyoto District Court sentenced him to death in January this year, in accordance with the prosecutors’ recommendation. Aoba has appealed the sentence to the Osaka High Court, where his case is set to be heard next year.